A couple days ago, we reported that the Oscars were banning Sacha Baron Cohen from attending the ceremony as his character from The Dictator, Admiral General Aladeen. The banning wasn’t unexpected since the Academy has the world’s largest stick jammed up the world’s tightest ass, and while Cohen’s character is comically offensive, it would be entertaining, which is not in the spirit of this year’s Oscars. This morning, Aladeen went on The Today Show and MSNBC to protest being banned from “The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Zionists.” The video and the interview give a good sense of the offensive humor he was planning to bring to the Oscars, and it will be sorely missed from the unrelentingly dull ceremony on Sunday.

Hit the jump to check out the response video and his interview on MSNBC. The Dictator opens May 16th. [Update: Oscar producer Brian Grazer has confirmed via Heat Vision that Cohen will appear on the red carpet dressed as The Dictator after all, so prep your DVR’s accordingly] [Update 2: Cohen’s General Aladeen has posted a victory image with a golden gun and Oscars tickets in hand.]